Cold vs Flu

A few weeks ago, I caught some kind of cold. Some might've said it was the flu, but I would have to argue this. Ironically, this cold appeared a week after my treadmill broke. I wasn't running outside either because of the deadly freezing temperatures, therefore I was lacking exercise. In return, my body went through withdraws and I got sick. The flu shot is not something I would ever consider (that will have to be a different post).  Oddly enough, I had a sore throat for a few days. No other systems, just a sore throat. To make this even stranger, no one else in my house was sick. The sore throat disappeared, I became congested and a persistent cough magically appeared. Apparently there are two kinds of influenza-a stomach flu and a respiratory flu. With deductive reasoning, I had the respiratory one. I wasn't run down or anything, but the cough took about a week to go away. It felt more like a cold then the flu, but I gave it another week before I ventured out into the great Wisconsin cold to run.

Today was my integration back into running, post-cold. My lungs burned so bad I thought I was going to die. It brought me back to my good old days of competitive swimming. Chlorine isn't always the best chemical to inhale six days a week. Occasionally, my lungs would burn after an intense practice. Between the cold and the exertion, I was hacking up a well conditioned cardiovascular lung. It took two hours to calm the spasms, but in my Dr. Hansen diagnosis I think I might actually have had the respiratory flu. Non-doctors can be wrong too. Yes I am admitting I might've been wrong. It doesn't happen very often so you can mark it down. Oh yeah, I've written it down for you.

I will test out my theory with another run tomorrow out in the cold. I know I can hear all your awww's in sync. Feel my pain.